Proton Conducting Polymer Membrane Using The Ionic Liquid 2-Hydroxyethylammonium Lactate For Ethanol Fuel Cells

In this work, there were developed a proton conducting polymer membrane using an ammonium based protic ionic liquid: 2-hydroxyethylamominum lactate for use in proton exchange fuel cells (PEMFC). This kind of ionic liquid has been proven to be biodegradable and they have potentially low toxicity besides low cost of preparation, simple synthesis and purification. The prepared membranes are hybrid organic-inorganic materials. The polymeric matrix is prepared with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixed with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) in a ratio of 70/30 % in weight. Then, the eletrolytical mixture containing sodium monododecylsulfate (SDS) and the ionic liquid was introduced in the lattice near the gel point, there were used different proportions of the eletrolyte from 5 to 30% in weight. The prepared membranes were characterized using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (DRX), termogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and conductivity and impedance measurements. The prepared materials are flexible, with good thermal and mechanical stability and with a great potential to be used as conducting membranes of fuel cells. The used mixture minimizes the lixiviation lost of the ionic liquid from the polymeric membrane and enhances the cell efficiency if compared with traditional synthetic membranes.